The Last Boat


 The Last Boat

 

In the 1940s and '50s there were no longer amusement parks in the immediate Wilmington area.  Brandywine Springs and Shellpot Park were long gone.  But for a kid in the summer, Lenape Park near West Chester was accessible by an energetic bike ride, and Riverview Beach Park in Pennsville, NJ could be reached by boat.  With friends I took the number 5 trolley to Church St., walked to the Wilson Line terminal by Fourth St., and cruised to the dock right at Riverview Beach Park.  Take in the rides, swimming pool, and food, and then a late boat back to Wilmington.

One year Tasty Kakes had a promotion in connection with Riverview.  Local grocery stores gave out strips with detachable discount coupons for many of the rides.  The bottom coupon was good for one free ride on any of the Riverview rides.  We loaded up on the promotional strips, tore off the free coupons. and discarded the rest.  Riverview was overrun with kids.

The Last Boat remembers leaving Riverview on the  final trip of the day back to Wilmington.  But also it refers to my last trip ever sometime in the late 1950s, and the Wilson Line's final trip to Riverview in 1960.

There is a brief history of the park at:

https://hsp.org/sites/default/files/landmarks_a_brief_history_of_riverview_beach_park.pdf

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